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Dec 31, 2013

I know I am a few days late sharing my Christmas story but, like many others, I was busy spending time with family over the holiday and then returned to work the rest of the week. Saturday was nice weather so we went riding and, for some reason, I cannot remember what I did on Sunday. Oh well.... it will probably come to me later in this blog.

Anyway, Christmas Eve started at my grandma's house which has been a family tradition since I was a baby- or longer. The morning started out like this:

This pic was my effort to be a good example for my Facebook friends (and other friends included) and a way to hold myself accountable in reference to holiday gorging. I have experienced holidays where I get so stuffed that I am in serious misery..... why do I do that to myself? It does not make sense because the amount of time the deliciousness lasts on my taste buds is FAR FAR shorter than the period of time I spend paying for over-eating!!! I know that eating like a normal human being is possible so I wanted to prove it to myself by sharing with others that it can be done. My heart was in the right place ;)

I noticed the camera pic is blurry and I am not sure why because I have not taken any pics lately. Besides, I am not techy so I do not mess with the settings. Messing with stuff usually ends up messing it up so I do not know what happened. Anyway, my family is not very good with taking pics and I want to change that. I don't have many pics of my mom and I wish I had tons so I grab my camera at the last minute, stuff it in my purse and walk out the door. My camera is water proof, dust proof and shock resistant so it is rather heavy and probably why I don't bring it with me a lot.

My bf & me:

My brother and me:

We get to my grandma's house and I am starving. Hungry to the point where I have a headache... and maybe even some crankiness coming on but I was in a good mood so there was no crankiness :) I have some appetizers which, by the way, do not consist of vegetables. Maybe I should start a tradition of bringing some because there have never been any. There were bagel bites, chips and salsa and artichoke dip with garlic bread. Chips and salsa being the best choice for me because I like small chips with tons of salsa- I guess that is where the veggie is. I also have about a tablespoon of artichoke dip with a small piece of garlic bread and the top of a bagel bite.

I begin eating and my grandma announces she has a surprise for all of us. She pulls out a folder and says "Remember last year when you asked me to tell some stories about my life? I have been doing that over the last year and here it is". How cool!!! She was born in 1939 and the way of life was so different then that it is really cool to hear the stories and I am super excited I brought my camera and I pull it out to take some video which ended up being about 36 minutes long so I did not post it here but have it for great memories to come.

Pics with my grandma:

She told a story about my grandpa being drafted and riding in the back of one of the trucks where he fell asleep and fell off. I giggled a little bit because I knew he was OK but I pictured a comedy with a someone falling off the back of a truck while on a mission. Then she says the truck behind theirs hit him and I felt like a jerk for giggling. Come to find out, that is how his back injury occurred. I did not even know he had a back injury.

Anyway, family stuff is great but back to the food! For dinner we had lasagna, Italian sausage with peppers & onions, meatballs and garlic bread.... oh ya, and black olives. We used to always have a relish tray that never had much success except for the black olives so she keeps those and ditched the rest. I do not ever remember having a salad... maybe it was there growing up & nobody ate it? Again, new family tradition?

My fav is the sausage & peppers so I have some of that with a big of the lasagna & meatballs... plus extra sauce. No garlic bread for me cuz I need to save room for the stuff I luv. I keep the portions small and have seconds with an even smaller portion. I drank a ton of water all day so this is what I woke up to the next day:

See how the pic is much clearer? Someone got the camera situated at the end of the day....and it was not me... woohoo! This shot features the morning after Christmas Eve dinner, a small piece of cheesecake for desert (my grandma gets the small cheesecakes which I luv) and some leftover lasagna n meatballs a few hours later. Not too bad but it is definitely a gain.

Next day was Christmas day and we went to J's family's house where they had the traditional turkey and everything else you can think of including cabbage rolls. I kept everything to a minimum there as well but there was a lot more to choose from as his family gatherings are much bigger and everyone likes to bring their favorite dishes. I was too disappointed the next day to take a pic but I'll just tell you, it said 129.2. Overall, not bad but my pants were tight and I do not feel the same when the numbers go up.

I prefer to avoid dwelling, so onto merrier things like a few featured gifts. A funny one from my gma. Because she knows how much I love fitness.

This lotion because it literally smells good enough to eat. It smells kinda like a lemon frosting - which I do not usually like but I could probably eat this lotion and like it!! ha

I was super excited about this slice-o-matic because I have a huge food processor which requires a bit of assembly to use and really should be for larger events. Which means I don't use it much, however, I am ALWAYS cutting/slicing/dicing SOMETHING for EVERY meal. I just wanted something on a smaller scale which would be more convenient and I was so excited over this. Until, dun dun dun, it gets hung up with every attempted slice. It also means, it took twice as long to slice veggies for the veggie soup I made. My bf was determined to get it to work and after 15 min. of trying I began hand chopping. Yup, I finished more stuff in less time. Not that it was a contest but I am disappointed it did not work and still had a job to get done.

This watch because I love the color! A few days ago I saw a chunky bracelet, same color, and loved it. I do not have a lot of colorful accessories so this is great.

Lots of eye shadow.... I am pretty simple but I love variety.

Crazy sox that I love wearing around the house. I would never go in public wearing these but I love 'em when nobody can see them.

This year there was no holiday ham so I bought the smallest ham I could find which was still 7 lbs and we do not have kids so it's a lot of ham. We froze it in portions to make ham & cabbage soup, ham & bean soup and I already made veggie soup with ham chunks in it. It was pretty good but it was a concoction that I thought up so I did not take pics. I will do that when I make it again.

Good news, I lost the weight I gained so drama series over!

How was your Christmas? What were your favorite gifts? I have friends who do not celebrate Christmas but they celebrate 'festivus' or other things. If you are among them, what kinds of things do you do while others celebrate Christmas?

Dec 24, 2013

Holiday weight gain is something that people of our generation have accepted and even expect. Most of us are fortunate enough that we have plenty of food so we are not lacking in that area but sometimes we are still malnourished because of poor food choices. Sometimes we over eat because it is available but we have to reprogram our way of thinking to overcome this. The holidays are extremely difficult because of the emphasis placed on food. I used to joke around and say that I had to lose 5lbs to compensate for the 5lbs I would gain from the holidays but the truth is I have never enjoyed gaining weight over the holidays. I just laughed about it because it seemed like it was unavoidable.

Christmas is tomorrow and there is always so much food- the Christmas portions can get crazy! Wahoo. I love Christmas and the joy that it brings. I am like a little kid. I literally squeal when I see Christmas lights and wonderful displays. I wriggle around and clap my hands....what a vision that is! hahaaa. I go out of my way to see decorations and I just cannot get enough. I love listening to Christmas music and being around all the holiday cheer. Not to mention the family time.

When I was growing up I still loved all the lights and music, etc but I did not really appreciate the true meaning of Christmas the way I do now. I loved the family time but I think that was because of the presents and how many cool things I would get.

Now I appreciate Christmas for all that it is--not saying I don't love gifts anymore--but I enjoy spending time with family and knowing the joy that it brings my grandmother when she is able to see the grand kids.

It is also a time that I reflect on this being the birth of Christ. Admittedly, I probably do not express my gratitude to Him as much as I should during this time of year (or the rest of the year for that matter) but I do think about the miracle of Him a lot more.

I loved the meals because they were always specialties that we do not usually have year round. The turkey gave way to leftover turkey sandwiches, casseroles & other turkey plates that were just outstanding. The ham meant we had bean and ham soup. My mom used to make ham hock & bean soup which I learned later that others just call ham and bean soup. I also learned there were many varieties of it but at the time it seemed like nobody had ever heard of it and all my friends thought it sounded gross.

My grandma made (and still makes) Italian food. My favorite is Italian sausage with peppers and onions. She also makes some type of pasta with meatballs. OMG!! I wish I could have it more than Christmas but I know it is a lot of work.

Christmas Day we go to my bf's family and they have TONS of food and deserts....plus there are appetizers. There is so much food there and I understand why one plate can consist of 3000 calories!! Everyone knows that 3500 calories equals 1 pound so if a person eats one plate with 3000 calories on it and then a desert, they have over consumed for the entire day!! The reality is most people go back for seconds and desert is usually a minimum of 500 calories. This is how weight gain occurs.

Then the next few days usually consist of leftovers and usually they are not eaten in moderation so with the combination of the food being higher calorie and consumed heavily, people gain significant amounts of weight within a short period of time. Nobody wants that and it is unhealthy. That is always my biggest point - health, not vanity. So Christmas portions should be moderated to avoid weight gain.

The plan of action for today:

1. KNOW YOUR LIMITS and plan for success. Accept the fact that there will be scrumptious things but we don't need to gobble it ALL.

2. Start with a light breakfast - I recommend getting in some veggies during this meal. If your family celebrates in the evening then have a light lunch too. When eating appetizers, those should be light too and stick with veggie items. For example, we have asparagus wrapped in prosciutto and even though the prosciutto is fatty, the asparagus is not. That is a better choice than cheese and crackers.

3. Drink water all day- this helps the brain know you are full prior to being overfull. Especially be sure to drink a full glass prior to your meal. This will also help reduce bloating due to excessive sodium. Most holiday meals have higher doses of salt and this leads to bloating -and other health issues and water helps flush that. Besides, most of us do not drink enough water anyway.

4. Workout. The day(s) of your big meal you should workout. My personal preference is to workout vigorously to combat any extra calories consumed during my Christmas meal. It would also be good to workout the day before and after. The extra calories gotta go somewhere and if you don't burn 'em off, then you probably know exactly where they will go! If you do not normally workout, you should try going for a walk or doing some jumping jacks, jump rope or any small activity to boost your metabolism.

5. Incorporate veggies and eat that first. Most holiday meals consist of a lot of rich foods and many are high in carbs. Most people opt for these yummy choices because they are exactly that- yummy. Note to self: high carb foods ALWAYS contain high calories too. If your family does a salad, have a small serving of that with light dressing. If you do not have salads then eat the green beans, asparagus or whatever you have and be sure to eat that first. Pick the non-starchy over the starchy, if available. This will help you consume less total calories because you will begin to fill your belly with that first.

6. Pick out your favorites and have those. There is no need to put everything on your plate. There will always be another time that you can eat the other things. The more food on your plate, the more you will likely eat. If there is less food on your plate then you are already ahead of the game.

7. Use a salad plate so your plate appears full. If you use a bigger plate it will be too full- too much food. Your brain plays a huge role in satisfaction. If your plate appears full, your brain will signal your stomach that you are satisfied. Psychology with our Christmas portions to avoid weight gain!

8. Put a small serving of any item, even your favs, on your plate. By small serving, I mean use a tablespoon instead of a regular serving spoon. It will probably appear laughable on your plate but if you are like me, you like 2nds. This way when you go for seconds you won't already be over-stuffed. (probably just slightly stuffed)

9. If you go back for seconds, make that smaller than your first plate and avoid going back after that. This is going to take a lot of will power, I know, but you will be thankful!! I promise. You will still get the taste of your favorites and you will be more comfortable than usual - meaning your stomach won't be hurting as bad. Plus there will be less calories consumed ;)

10. Know when your cheats will be. Avoid eating all the goodies the rest of the month. Remember, New Year's Eve is coming and there will likely be some form of food, treat or even alcohol.

It seems like holiday weight gain is inevitable but the reality is that we think that way because of programming. Our own programming and we just need to think a little bit differently by using smart tips to helps us out. Back in the 1800s we were farmers and grew our own foods so people worked in the field and did a lot of manual labor. Food was not abundant, except for with the wealthy, which meant people were not overweight. Sometimes there was not enough food so sometimes people were malnourished.

Today we struggle with obesity because of a variety of things. Less physical activity, abundance of food and an overall excess in unhealthy choices. Which, I might add, usually appeal more to us. I know that holiday weight gain is a reality and it is difficult with so much delicious food. I hope this blog will help avoid holiday weight gain and at the very least, reduce excessive holiday weight gain!!

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to those who celebrate something other than Christmas!!

Dec 18, 2013

I am human and am not close to perfect so I am gonna keep it real. A coupe weeks ago I was PMSing (sorry if you are a guy reading that-but it is not that bad) so I craved chocolate. Years ago I never used to crave anything. Well, maybe salt but now I crave all kinds of garbage. My favorite is chocolate and peanut butter.

I am not a huge sweets, junk food kind of person but I am just like the next person and when the time comes to have cravings - they are definitely there. Anyway, I pick up some nuts and dark chocolate with small peanut butter/chocolate pieces in it. I did not get a lot, it was just from the bin at Sprouts where you can pick your own serving size. I just enough to last a few days and to share. I know that probably sounds a bit out of control when I say 'just enough to last a few days and to share'. I am generally pretty good with watching portions -especially on cheats. Not that I really planned on eating it for a few days because what usually happens is I will have a little bit then my bf has the rest. Fine by me. Then I get a little of what I want without the little extra calories (or a lot extra).

Around this time I also had anxiety a few days in a row so I ended up losing a pound. I figured having a little chocolate, pb & nuts would be fine since I had lost a pound. Then we went to dinner at Pei Wei, where it is salty, and my bf had not eaten all the chocolate/pb mix so I had a little more the next day. And the next day. Anyway, the pound I lost went away and I added 2 to it.

The point of today's blog is to share the fact that sometimes shit happens and when it does, just overcome it. Ya, I am not happy about it but I also know why/how it happened. The next step is to correct it. I had more calories than my body needed so now I need to eat a little less than my body needs. Or work a little harder in the gym. I vote for the latter because I really don't like eating less! Matter of fact, I began lifting heavier so I could eat more. Because I love eating.

Oh ya, I just remembered I also had a DQ pumpkin pie blizzard. I have one every year around the holidays. I plan to have one every year and I am totally fine with it. I even think one year I had a couple but I think the combo of all of it so close to each other was no good. The garbage has to be spread out. I should not have had many high fat/high salt foods within a couple day span. But it is ok. It is not the end of the world and my next blog is going to be about how to watch portions during the Christmas holiday. I suppose I should have applied that to myself while I was PMSing!! LOL

My co-workers are usually rather astonished if they see me eat a cookie or something because I rarely do it. They all see the meals I bring every day for the whole day. Meal prep, it is time consuming but so worth it and if I have anything outside wholesome and nutritious, they freak out! Well, I am over-exaggerating a bit. They do not freak out but they do get surprised.

While I usually do not have treats like candy, ice-cream or any other sugary stuff, I do sometimes. And it is damn good! (Keepin' it real) Normally when I do have junk I watch it and do not get crazy but this time I got crazy and now I am paying for it. The real issue is that Christmas is around the corner and we have 2 houses to go to. One on Christmas Eve and one on Christmas Day. We all know that there are loads of good things to have. Foods that we do not usually have on a regular basis so it is a special treat.

With that being said I guess I better get my butt to the gym!! This reminds me of how serious I used to be about the gym. Not that I am not serious anymore, I am still serious. It is just that I used to be so serious that I went 5-6 days a week. It was more on the 6 day side of things. I was extremely vigorous and now I do not have enough time to go that many days per week. I found a pic of when I was rather vigorous.

Here is a pic of my friend and I one night probably about 10 years ago and here is a pic of me a couple months ago:

I strive to stay in shape but no longer have time to go 6 days a week. Sometimes it is only 4 days a week but that is because I am working on bigger things. Once I have all that settled, I will be back to 5 days a week ALL the time....who knows, maybe 6! I absolutely love the gym and I make time to go as it is. I cannot wait until I can get back to being able to go as much as I want. All in due time :)

There it is. My confession about the junk food - just Keepin' it Real! Tell me your real stories? Are you mostly healthy or mostly junk foody?

Dec 17, 2013

Smoothies are delicious but I rarely have them for breakfast because I get hungry about an hour later. This particular morning I decided to make a little extra so I could bring some with me to work as part of my morning snack. Whenever I say I have 5 meals a day, it is really 3 smaller meals and 2 snacks.

PS, my snacks are NOT pre-packaged cookies or any other pre-packaged item. It is always a fruit then a protein. It is better to eat fresher, non-processed foods to avoid the chemicals, preservatives and crap that go into processing.

I like to put in the ice first and then the liquid and protein powder. This way all the ingredients do not stick to the bottom of the blender. Next, I put the cinnamon and honey. I add the cucumber and fruit with the spinach, on top.

Blend until smooth and serve. Add more water to desired consistency. I like mine thicker because it makes me think I am eating an actual shake. It's all about mindset! This was about 6 cups and I had 2 cups for breakfast. I brought another 2 cups to work and my bf had the other 2.

It is a great way to sneak in fruits and veggies. Most people do not eat enough fruits or vegetables. I read a study on ABC: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthday/story?id=4506239 that said only 28% of Americans eat their 2 recommended daily servings of fruits and only 32% ate the recommended daily serving of 3 veggies a day.

It comes naturally for me, but I have been eating right for a while. I always wonder what the hell are people eating that they cannot squeeze in 2 fruits a day?! And/or 3 servings of veggies a day? It sounds like it is just meat, cheese and bread. Oh, and sugar. Geez!!

This leads me to a great tip: Trade out 1 sweet per day for a fruit. For example, instead of having packaged candies like Starburst or Skittles have a Fuji apple. Instead of ice cream have some Greek yogurt with fruit such as pineapple in it.

Dec 16, 2013

I have learned how to overcome anxiety without medication and I was soooo excited to have figured it out. There are so many people who have anxiety and take medication to help control it. But I do not want to take meds which means I had to figure it out and I did.

But.........yes,....... "but", I got so excited about overcoming it that I stopped practicing the methods that helped me get rid of. It is kinda like outta sight outta mind. I did not have it anymore so I stopped meditating. I was still going to the gym, listening to music and talking to friends/loved ones but meditating is the HUGE piece of the puzzle that I was missing.

A few days ago I woke up with anxiety. Woke up with it....weird. All I had been doing was sleeping so what in the world would cause me to WAKE UP with it???!!! I know most of us do not understand it because it just does not make sense to get anxiety just because I was sleeping. Usually anxiety comes from situations that are unpleasant and then the repeat of it. Plus stress and life in general are all causes- but sleep?

I have talked to many other people that suffer from anxiety and they have all experienced this as well. Some of them even wake up in the middle of the night with the rapid heart beat associated with anxiety. Isn't it so strange that the body does this?

Anyway, I have had anxiety most of last week and got back into meditating. Most of the time when I talk to others about meditating, they say they do not meditate because they do not know how. I used to think it was for weirdos so I am sure that some people think I am weird. (maybe I am a little! haha) The basic point of it is tapping into the subconscious mind. We all know that what we think is what we get so we have to turn our mind onto "auto-suggestion" by putting into it what we want to get out of it.

I know that none of us ever put into our mind that we want anxiety. It is just a by-product of stress. Our body and brain work synergistic with one another and, unfortunately, the signals get mixed up by telling the body it needs shots of adrenaline all the time when it really does not.

One example of this is I have noticed, is that when I am moving quickly to get ready for work in the morning, my heart rate speeds up - it does that when we try to hurry. The problem is the body is confused because it has been sending adrenaline to the body on a regular basis. I do not need adrenaline to keep pumping through my body after I am ready .... but that is what makes it anxiety. It does not allow me to make that choice. It just keeps going after I am ready and driving to work. Maybe I should get ready a little earlier so I am not in a hurry! So then I get to spend the whole day sick to my stomach from stupid anxiety.

Once I realized I was having anxiety again I thought, "what the hell??!!" This is bull shit!!! I am tired of stupid anxiety. Stupid. Anxiety. It reminded me of a book I read about the power of a positive attitude. The author wrote that someone had said he must be positive all the time. To which he answered, "No, I have to work at it". He even stated that he used to have a poor attitude which is what prompted him to make some changes to pursue a positive attitude. I am paraphrasing because I cannot quite remember the exact verbiage but the point is that his positive attitude was something he had to work towards. And so is overcoming anxiety.

Well, I went back to meditating every day. Morning and night. Just a few minutes, nothing crazy. I do not have time for long amounts of meditating. Ideally, it should be 15 minutes increments and the first few times doing it again I did spend 15 minutes each session. (I call it session like I was with a professional but it was just me)

During these times I focused on what I wanted in my life. Which was to be free of anxiety and this is exactly how I word it. This way there are no negative words such as "I don't want" or "I want to get rid of" (don't and rid are the negative words). I focused on breathing and with each breath in I would literally breathe in patience and positive influences. Each breath out I would literally exhale anxiety and any possible negativity.
I asked the universe to bring me peace and calmness. I never thought in a million years that I would be asking the universe for anything. I used to think that was just nonsense except that it really works so what I used to think does not matter anymore! What I was doing was using the power of my subconscious to literally override what my body was doing.

It is quite amazing the way the mind works and I get so excited when I practice these little steps and get what I want from life. The big one is being free of anxiety!

Have any of you tried meditating? Does it work for you? What do you do to overcome anxiety?

Dec 14, 2013

My bf & I went snowboarding yesterday. It was fun, I love boarding but there was not a whole lot of snow so hopefully there will be more soon.

The really cool thing about living in AZ is that even tho it is desert, we can still enjoy winter sports. It is only a couple hour drive and there you are!

You can see there is still a lot of area with no snow. As we drove up I was nervous at how little snow was on the ground but there was enough to snowboard and have fun.

The other cool thing is that there were hardly any people so the lines were short, if any at all. Which I love. And it also means no worrying about amateur hour. I know everyone has to start somewhere but the bunny hill is the appropriate place for that :)

The only problem for me was that my knee(s) have been hurting the last couple days so the first couple of runs were rough. Good news, we stopped at the lodge to help get the muscles and joints going. Honestly, probably not the smartest choice but if you love sports and being active then you know exactly where I am coming from.

Bottoms up!!! LOL

After a couple shots of Fireball I did not feel any pain and I figured if it is going to hurt anyway, I may as well temporarily mask it so I can have fun. No harm no foul. I am usually very careful not to be that way because knees can be serious but I do not have any torn ligaments/tendons/etc. Mine is deterioration of the patella (knee) and I have been working to strengthen my knees which can reverse the damage. Doctors say strengthening is not a guarantee but it can help. It seems to have been helping over the last few years so I am going with it!

So we are having a great time & I think it would be awesome to take out my camera & record my bf coming down the mountain. It is always cool to see yourself in pics/videos so I thought he would like it. Well, apparently the altitude and the Fireball made it so my video-taking-skills were somewhat less than good. hahaa. I end up totally missing him coming down the mountain & barely get a shot of him as he is done.

Then I think it will be genius to video myself coming down the mountain. There I was, thinking I was pretty awesome for boarding AND holding the camera, and guess what? My dumb ass missed the whole thing!!! I have no idea how I did it but when I went to watch the video all there was was a quick shot of the snow, then it goes to my face. Like I was turning it off or something -and then it's off. WTH??!!!

Oh well, I will have to be a super hero next time. I just need to remember the altitude really increases the alcohol effect!

Dec 10, 2013

I was trying to log into this blog and Google listed a comment someone made about another person. The person was talking to another blogger and I copy/pasted what it said:"I read her blog and she mentioned yours and the meany no it all! " I could not see which blog the person was referring to but it made me wonder if anyone reads my blogs and thinks the same thing. I tend to be straight forward and sometimes forget to gloss it up.That is not an intention in any of my writings and I strive to be humble. Actually, I have been hesitant to post any of the things I have about myself because I bare the personal and private thoughts I have had about myself. So when I write the things I do, you can even hear the disgust I had in myself. Maybe the disgust comes off as being mean but the disgust was with myself. Even though I do not like to admit that I have had low self-esteem as a young adult, the truth is I am human and it happened. Sometimes it still happens if I feel like I am not living up to my own expectations. By no means are my personal thoughts about myself directed to anybody else. I am just sharing my personal feelings about me... not anyone else. The reason I speak freely about MY experiences with health & fitness is so that the people who resonate with what I have gone through and learned from can identify with the fact that everyone struggles with this from time to time. My hope is that my experiences may guide someone the direction they wish to go.I have realized that writing can come across in a way that it is not intended and my intent is NEVER to be mean. Sometimes I am blunt in reference to facts but I have found that sugar coating does not always deliver the fact the proper way. I feel it is important for people to know the reality of how to accomplish their goals. It may not be directly in line with their views but it is not intended to be mean.I am very outgoing and friendly, with a little bit of attitude and A LOT of heart. I wish I were more funny but at least I make up for that by being energetic. I care about what happens to others and I have a soft spot for those who are enduring their journey through weight loss. My goal is to be motivational - not a know it all. I get so excited to see someone succeed and reach their goals. It makes me feel good if I can provide a tip that helps them. I also recognize that my tips are just that. Tips. The real hero is the one who accomplishes their goals.Maybe the info I provide appears as though I think I know it all but it is not meant that way. I just like sharing what has worked for me and what I have seen work for others. The fact is I have been studying and training in health & wellness for over 13 years now. I am a nationally certified massage therapist, by no means do I 'know-it-all" but you could say I've done my homework, at least some of it. :) LOL I am no Dr. and I do not claim to be, so please know that my writings are meant to be informational and humble.

When I tell stories about myself it is so people can get to know a bit about my background, not to toot my own horn. Matter of fact, there are things about my past that are embarrassing and I will share those in a future blog spot too. Those of you who are like-minded individuals and would like to connect with me for FREE tips and tricks from my own personal arsenal of fat killing info, click here: TC Fit Lifestyle. Feel free to comment as to whether I am a meany know it all. Yes, these are comments about someone else but it is a good opportunity for me to share where I come from with my writing.

Dec 7, 2013

You know you have seen peeps laughing it up about holiday weight gain. Joking about going up a pants size but you and I both know damn well that after the holiday is over and you are ACTUALLY wearing a bigger size pant, it won't be so funny anymore.

I know this to be true as I had many clients tell me that they wanted to 'enjoy' their holiday. What is the holiday really about? For me, Christmas is about family. It is about the joy of the spirit. It is about spending time with one another. It is about being a little bit nicer... even if I don't want to. And, yes, it is even about enjoying foods I do not eat on a regular basis. But the highlight is and should not be about food.

Really, going up a pants size is not funny. It is unhealthy and this statement is not intended to make anyone feel guilty. It is intended to be real. Our health is not a joke and we seem to overlook that when it comes to foods we want to eat. Especially around the holidays. It is like we give ourselves permission to check out of acknowledging our health. Why? To eat abundant amounts of good food? To gain weight? Is your health really worth it?

I am not a Grinch or a scrooge about Christmas (or whatever holiday you celebrate) but the reality is that we use food in ways we should not. I definitely participate in indulgence but I do it in moderation. So the purpose of all I am saying today is to remind everyone you can do the same. You can still enjoy yourself without damaging your health.

Weight used to be viewed as vanity. So a little weight gain here or there was only an issue for vanity but now that we know how much risk we really put ourselves in, it is no longer a matter of vanity at all. People are no longer 5-10 lbs overweight. It is more like 50-100 lbs and more overweight. This means that health risks are heavily involved. (like it or not)

With the holidays here, now, it is important to practice a few key pieces of moderation in order to avoid actually going up a pants size. A couple months ago my grandma talked about her going on vacation and eating 'whatever she wanted' because that is what most people tend to do. Maybe because it is a special treat to be on vaca.... maybe it is to have foods of a different culture. Whatever the reason is, why do we have to go crazy and gain large amounts of weight? We HAVE to eat so wouldn't it be wise to eat what our body needs rather than more? Or to be aware when something has more calories so we do not consume more calories in a day than what we need?

We view holidays and vacations as a free for all and weight gain happens. Then another event would come up and weight gain happens again.... and again.... and so forth. My clients used to stop coming during the holidays to avoid accountability. Holiday weight gain can be controlled even avoided. And you (and I) can still taste the things we love most.

I will blog about tips on what to do to avoid excessive weight gain. I did a little demo on Thanksgiving to show how possible it is to avoid going up a pants size... or even on the scale. View the scale pics on my fit page: https://www.facebook.com/TcFitLifestyle

This eating cotton balls thing is CRAZY!! It is totally unhealthy and unsafe. It is all over the news and media that people, even young girls... more like children as young as 9 yrs old, are eating cotton balls. They are doing this as a method of losing weight.

The purpose of them doing this is to lose weight. The attempt is to trick the stomach into feeling full in hopes of eliminating the starving/hungry feeling. People are dipping it in orange juice then eating it. The cotton has no calories so the body still has to use the fat or muscle to survive, thus reducing body weight.

The problem with this.... let me rephrase problem(s) with this are that cotton contains polyester which contains products also used in plastic drinking bottles, per Wise Geek. See this article about polyester on Wise Geek: http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-polyester.htm. We all know that plastic in bottles have known carcinogens (unless you buy special bottles without these chemicals).

Another major reason to avoid eating cotton balls is there no nutritional value which could cause a person to become malnourished which leads to disease and even death. For the life of me, I cannot figure out who would want to take their life into their own hands! I being a bit dramatic here but so is eating cotton balls.

Actually, I was reading the doctor prescribed psychiatric treatment and this is likely because this type of behavior falls along the lines of eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia. I would imagine that anyone participating in eating cotton balls may need some help. I hope that they would get the help they need.

I understand obesity is a huge trend and is very unhealthy but going the polar opposite (or bi-polar opposite) is not good at all. In cases of the 9 yr olds, they probably just don't know better but I still hope they get some kind of help to be healthy.

Dec 5, 2013

The day before yesterday I had a highly unpleasant experience with a person who was extremely nasty. My work has a strict social media policy so I cannot say where it is but I will tell you the person who called was very rude, unprofessional and treats others in a manner that is highly uncalled for. (others have told me about their experience with the person as well)

I have been noticing that many people have been acting this way toward others for a while now. It seems like if someone is slightly irritated they take it out on everyone. This is not the way we should treat each other. We all have our own issues but should still treat others with kindness - - the way we would want/expect to be treated.

There is no need to raise your voice, say nasty things, belittle a company rep or any other ugly thing. Speaking in a regular conversation can still resolve any concern you may have and then you aren't being crappy to the other person. Not to mention, it will probably help keep your own blood pressure and anxiety levels at bay!! Win win for everyone!

Good news, it did not ruin my day because I choose not to take my bad experience out on anyone else :)

Dec 2, 2013

I just posted an article to my Facebook fan page at: https://www.facebook.com/TcFitLifestyle and it is about counting calories. I know that some people absolutely, positively do not want to count calories. Some programs, like Weight Watchers, pride themselves on not counting calories. Instead, they use a points system but you are still counting. For some reason, people who participate in this program find it easier to count points rather than count calories and I am unclear on this because counting is counting.

I have noticed that people who are on a weight loss journey do a lot better if they are keeping track of what they are consuming. They do this by using a food diary and use that to do a calorie count. On the other hand, those who do not keep track are less successful. As a former consultant, I can say that it was due to failure to remember the little things such as a couple M & M's, some nuts or a handful of gold fish here or there. Moms have a tenancy to eat the last couple of bites left on their kids' plate and people who work in offices may have a lot of food items brought in.

The same people may have a meal at the end of the day that they know is a bit too creamy, cheesy or saucy and justify it because they have been "good" all day. When, in reality, they forgot about the little munchies throughout the day and by the end of the week they have lost little to none.

Eventually, you will already know what is in most foods (especially ones you commonly eat) because you have already read the labels and been practicing calorie counting. At that point, you will probably have lost the weight you wanted to lose and will no longer need to count.

Dec 1, 2013

My name is Tricia Coniglio and I have a passion for health and wellness. I gained and lost weight in my twenties and have yo-yo'ed a little bit here and there. By yo-yo, I do not mean a lot of weight - only about 10 pounds here and there. Which does not sound like much, and I carried it pretty well, but for a person who is 5'4 it really makes a difference.

I wrote a blog, a couple months ago, about my weight loss journey and I will share it here because it gives a detailed explanation of the things I changed in my life in order to achieve my goal. I went through the same things that everyone else goes through while trying to lose weight. Such as the food does not taste good and it is hard to eat the right things, etc.

I stopped weighing myself and did not have a scale so I estimate I lost between 30-50 lbs which may not sound like much to those who want to lose more than that but that does not make it any easier. It just means I reached the goal a little sooner because I did not have as far to go. I have even had people say to me that it was not a big deal. That is truly offensive because it implies that my hard work did not make a difference. I would never say such a thing to a person who lost 100 lbs just because they did not need to lose 200 lbs! A pound is a pound.... whether it's 30 or 300.

I became a massage therapist and learned some truly amazing things. The body is an amazing miracle! I began learning more and more about the body, health and better ways to eat. (when I was losing weight I bought/ate all the low fat/no fat versions of everything and learned later those products are unhealthy)

I began to learn what nutrients were good for allergies, vision, hair, energy, joints and the list goes on and on. I also learned that what we put in the body can create illness or it can create health. I chose health.

Later I got a job at Jenny Craig as a weight loss consultant and loved every minute of it!! I was able to share my knowledge- plus what I learned about their program- with others to assist them in reaching their goals. It was great and I still give ideas/tips when asked. I try to avoid making suggestions unless someone asks .... nobody likes a know it all.

I would love to get to know like-minded people. I like those who are enduring their weight loss journey as well as those who have already conquered it so leave comments and follow me - I will do the same.